The Lord of Cinder (2/2)

"....La..dy..

Lu..minas.."

Hinata was on the edge of death, and right before she was going to be striked by Gwyn, someone stepped and blocked the blade..

That someone had an enormous frown on my face, and she began a shouting match.

"You! You laid waste to all of my land!"

Gwyn, seeing the lady in front of him talking to him in a mighty tone, realized that this is the same person the humans worship.

He was enraged, and brought out a massive bolt.

"You, you're the one who stole the might of the gods of old!

You dare bring your ugly sight in front of me!

Anor Londo will be rebuilt over this human infested land!"

Her face held a shocked expression, eyes wide open, no one ever talked down to her that way, she could almost feel... Nevermind.

"Ugly? Says you!"

"Enough of this foolishness, I, Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder and Sunlight himself, shall turn you to ashes!"

Raising an eyebrow, the lady responded.

"Gwyn? Lord of Cinder? Never heard of you.

Are you sure you're not just some crazed old man?"

Gwyn appeared right in front of her within that instant she insulted him, his sword enchanted by the Miracle of Lightning, [Sunlight Blade].

But the lady held her ground and actually managed to push him back with her stronger sword, that sword being "Night Rose", a mythical-tier sword used by the "God" Luminas Valentine.

But it didn't last long, as a ball of lightning being powered-up by Gwyn forced Luminas to jump back a fair distance, but the ball gave chase at high speeds.

Clashing their swords multiple times after the ball erupted into a hundred lightning strikes, Luminas seemed to be gaining the upper hand.

"You! Who are you? How can you contend with me? I have never felt one with such an aura."

"I am Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder and Sunlight, and you humans are the Pygmy's end goal."

"Humans? Who says I'm human?"

"..?"

"Are you foolish enough to think the world is only humans? What perfect fantasy do you come from?"

"Perfect fantasy? You think the hardships I've faced to become a God are from a world of perfect fantasy?!

You think curing an age of dying gods and eternal life is something from a fiction?

I will show you what it means to have seen what I've seen."

Gwyn's Sunlight Blade miracle crackled even more and Luminas prepared her sword for a barrage of attacks.

Luminas started an on-burst of tens of attacks that Gwyn blocked most of, and when he got hit, he made sure to respond with his own attacks.

The main difference was that Luminas had him beat in speed, while he had her beat in strength.

And him using a greatsword didn't help his case much either, as his attacks were much easier to evade.

But he grabbed a hold of her neck at one point, and went straight for a stab through the chest area.

Then, pulling back his sword by pushing her off it, Gwyn moved to jump back, but Luminas managed to appear behind him and bit into his shoulder.

[Embrace Drain] is a Sub-Skill of [Lust], a skill which Luminas holds.

It drains a target's vitality while also sending pain signals straight to their soul.

And Gwyn was not able to resist it, as he dropped his sword and staggered still as Luminas kept latched on him.

Recognizing this dangerous situation, Gwyn used a Miracle of Lightning, Wrath of the Gods.

Emitting a gigantic shockwave, it send Luminas flying back, and all objects small or big in a relatively small radius were sent crashing into further things.

"Your blood is exquisite, it leaves me wanting for more..

More..." 

Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Luminas' eyes spoke for her, she was very highly intrigued by Gwyn's "Blood", and to her, that blood tasted divine.

"But it's unfortunate.. For you that is, that you destroyed my city without a hint of a reason.

Not that I would let you do so if you had a reason, but you still did.

Prepare, for I am not in the mood to be playful anymore."

Luminas' aura flared and she attacked Gwyn once more, Gwyn barely managed to pick up his sword in time to block some of the attacks, all of these attacks ended in his body being damaged.

Gwyn activated one of his other Sub-Skills, [Primordial Flame], and the Sunlight Blade empowered sword was set ablaze now, fire and lightning combined.

Now they stood on a somewhat equal ground, but Luminas was still ahead in terms of total results.

Luminas, pointing her sword straight at Gwyn, questioned him.

"Why do you say you're a god?"

"I am the ruler of Anor Londo, the city of gods.

How do you forget such worldly matters, pretentious god?"

Luminas thought for a second.. Then it hit her.

He's definitely an Otherworlder.

"You might be.. from another world.

You, Gwyn, are an Otherworlder!

You have come to this world somehow!"

Gwyn immediately ceased attacking and listened to what she said.

"Another world? What...

You're serious?"

He found that term "Otherworlder", as a form of hope.

Hope that the flame has not died out in his original world.

All he had to do, was return.

Return..

"But that does not entail me forgiving you.

I will still kill you.

You're far too deep in trouble, Gwyn~"

He didn't know what to make of this woman.

Her tone was serious yet so lustful.

Gwyn closed his eyes and lowered his sword.

"Are you going to give your life? Wise, really.

This is the second time my city has been destroyed! Can you believe it?! Atleast you recognize your mistakes..

And Hinata, you almost killed her.

Why can't you ask?!"

Then Luminas turned to the two dead of the Saints, and revived them.

"Now, the blood I took from you was just to revive them...

Give me your essence, Gwyn~"

Luminas approached Gwyn slowly, and she extended her hand.

"Com-"

And she didn't even get to touch him before a massive blue light fired like a canon, it could only be..

"Daughter!"

Turning to the direction of the canon-like blast, which was known as [Sphere Shot], Gwyn saw his.. "Daughter".. Gwyndolin, firing said blast.

"When did you get here?!"

"Father, concentrate! Much more is going on than you realize!"

Luminas had just barely dodged that attack, and she didn't feel like messing around anymore.

But looking at her attacker, Luminas could swear she felt her heart pound, she found Gwyndolin to be the epitome of beauty.

Such a hidden beautifully pale hidden face, with large cloaks to cover the perfection.

Such a shame.. She thought.

Such a shame.

She took a quick glance at Hinata, making sure she is fine, before leaving no distance between her and Gwyndolin.

Almost striking her helmet, Luminas was denied by Gwyn with a slash to the right side of her face.

"I won't have you hurting my daughter."

"Tch! I can't be messing around like this."

Luminas began to attack Gwyn over and over, but when she did, Gwyndolin would attack her with homing blue orbs.

And when she went for Gwyndolin, she would be attacked by Gwyn.

"AGHH! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY PREPOSTEROUS!"

She slashed Gwyn in a sudden onslaught of anger, which caused him to fall backwards, and then Gwyndolin was left exposed.

"D-Daughter!

Stop! No!"

Luminas stopped before killing Gwyndolin.

"Stop? You destroyed my capital! You killed my people!

I won't leave a hint of you!"

She turned super angry compared to when they started, with such a fierce tone, with no hint of questionable acts.

"Louis! Roy!"

Two identical men appeared at the same time Luminas called them.

""Yes.""

"Get the unconscious away from here.

And get Hinata out.'

""Yes, Lady Luminas.""

They did just as she said, and she flared her aura one more time, with an obvious hint of rage.

Gwyn slowly stood up and put all of his skills to the maximum, his entire stomach area had a large slash wound on it, and he was bleeding profusely.

"You still stand up, you shameless fool? Even after being the cause of all this, you still stand up? Refusing to fall? 

I will show you despair, you have not suffered enough it seems."

What has Gwyn suffered, to be precise?

The dying embers of the First Flame, the abyss, the Bed of Chaos, the Dark Age's looming.

All those are horrifying events that no mere lord can shield his world through.

Gwyn, in his own eyes, was the one who held the world together during those moments.

But all those moments came with loss:

The First Flame was at it's charred end, the Abyss had taken over much of his beloved land and even arguably his greatest knight, Artorias.

The Bed of Chaos, the amalgamation that used to be Gwyn's friend and close ally, the Witch of Izalith, and her Daughters of Chaos, that amalgamation laid waste to the underground of his land.

The Dark Age's looming.. The Furtive Pygmy's certain future of choice..

Where humans take the world for themselves, and all the gods are no more.

This is what he thought happened when he first came into this world, Gwyn thought that the Furtive Pygmy had hit the nail on the head, which enraged him so.

Seeing how Luminas was angry, made him question one thing:

Is she a reflection of how he felt when his world was crumbling?

He took it for an easy trip at first, then it struck him as he realized how wrong he was.

She thought it was just a large enemy that needed a bit of a powerhouse to be dealt with, but she was wrong, and by not immediately stopping all of that, she lost much of her land, and much of her subordinates, even if she can revive them.

Truly, she was much like him.

And she slowly seemed to realize that, as she looked into Gwyn's eye, and he did the same.

Both of them bore the same look, incredibly distraught.

Luminas distraught for what just happened, and Gwyn distraught by how his past mistakes only just caught up to him.

He had cared only for his power, but never for

the lives of those lower than him or his allies.

Gwyn, the Lord of Cinder, had finally embraced his faults.

And his next step with Luminas would be interesting, and Gwyndolin could only watch as both "her" and "her" father's fates would be dictated.